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What are vegan shoes?

Vegan shoes are shoes produced without any animal materials such as leather, suede, snakeskin, sheepskin and silk. Faux leather is usually created from polyurethane attached to a cotton backing, and vegan suede is made out of synthetic fibres. Beyond Skin vegan shoes are made of luxury Italian faux leather, recycled microfibre suede, cream lacquered resin soles, recycled faux leather lining with a plant polymer coating, and an assortment of Italian woven fabrics.

Can you polish vegan shoes?

Luckily there’s no need to buy costly shoe polish or a special brush for vegan boots. As faux leather is typically created using plastic (polyurethane), to take care of them, simply wipe with a damp cloth. Some fabric protectors are also suitable for microfibre suede (please do always check the label on the fabric protector).

Are vegan shoes bad for the environment?

Most vegan leather is made from polyurethane, and while plastics are not environmentally ideal, when compared to the environmental impact of leather tanning, we believe vegan leather manufacturing is the lesser of two evils. Animal hide is tanned using harmful chemicals in countries with little or no health and safety protections for workers, and minimal environmental regulations. One of the chemicals often used for tanning called chromium is listed as one of the top ten worst pollution problems in the world. Meanwhile, textile technology is always advancing, with new materials made from recycled natural fibres currently in development. After taking everything into account, we feel vegan leather is a better environmentally-conscious choice to animal leather.

Why are vegan shoes so expensive?

Beyond Skin vegan shoes and boots are more expensive than more familiar brands because our footwear is manufactured within the European Union by talented shoemakers who are protected by employment laws and health & safety regulations, avoiding the unsafe conditions and poverty pay that happens elsewhere in the fashion industry that often allows prices to be so low. We also discovered that after oil, fashion is the biggest polluting industry, so we wanted to source only the best quality recycled synthetic materials for our shoes. As we’re striving to make shoes that tick all the boxes of not harming humans or small children, not harming the planet and not harming animals, this makes our vegan shoes more expensive.